Decorated detergent-resistant paper furniture and coating system therefor

ABSTRACT

A chair is formed from a single blank of paper stock material coated with a decorative and detergent-resistant coating. The blank comprises panels separated by score lines. The panels, when folded along the score lines, form sides and each side comprises spaced outer and inner panels interlocked by cooperating slots and tabs, the tabs also serving as arm rests. The blank further provides end panels which overlay the panel forming the back of the assembled chair. A seat panel is secured to the top of the back panel by another panel which folds over the back panel and brings the seat panel to its proper position between the inner side panels. The seat panel is secured to the inner side panels by slots and tabs. A rail member extends between the inner side panels and further supports the seat. The coatings can be applied to any paper furniture. The coating is formed of elastic, marresistant paint layers which are based upon elastic polyester, elastic polyester polyurethane, elastic epoxy ester and elastic silicone resins for the intermediate and top layers. These resin materials have outstanding color retention and weather resistance and can be rubber or polished to a glossy finish to match the best grades of lacquers which are commercially available.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Robert A. Caigan 1134 First Avenue,New York, N.Y. 10021 [21] Appl. No. 817,399 [22] Filed Apr. 18, 1969[45] Patented Sept. 14, 1971 [54] DECORATED DETERGENT-RESIST ANT PAPERFURNITURE AND COATING SYSTEM THEREFOR 8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

511 1111.0 A47c9/l2, A47c4/02 so] FieldoiSearch 297/440,

442,443,445;229/l6, 112; 108/115; l17/l2,76

Mork

Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg Att0rneyAbraham A. Saffitz ABSTRACT:A chair is formed from a single blank of paper stock material coatedwith a decorative and detergent-rcsistant coating. The blank comprisespanels separated by score lines. The panels, when folded along the scorelines, form sides and each side comprises spaced outer and inner panelsinterlocked by cooperating slots and tabs, the tabs also serving as armrests. The blank further provides end panels which overlay the panelforming the back of the assembled chair. A seat panel is secured to thetop of the back panel by another panel which folds over the back paneland brings the seat panel to its proper position between the inner sidepanels. The seat panel is secured to the inner side panels by slots andtabs. A rail member extends between the inner side panels and furthersupports the seat. The coatings can be applied to any paper furniture.The coating is formed of elastic, mar-resistant paint layers which arebased upon elastic polyester, elastic polyester polyurethane, elasticepoxy ester and elastic silicone resins for the intermediate and toplayers. These resin materials have outstanding color retention andweather resistance and can be rubber or polished to a glossy finish tomatch the best grades of lacquers which are commercially available.

PATENTED SEP] 4 l9?! SHEET 1 OF 2 FIGI PATENTEDSEPMIS?! 3,604,751 SHEEI2 BF 2 ROBERT A CAIGAN ATTORNEYS BY l/ML/w 4.

DECORATED DETERGENT-RESISTANT PAPER FURNITURE AND COATING SYSTEMTHEREFOR This invention relates to furniture, and more particularly to achair structure formed from a single coated blank of paper stock or likematerial.

An object of this invention is to provide a single, coated, precut andprescored blank of material, such as fiberboard, pressboard, or likefoldable material, which can be folded into an article of furniture suchas a chair.

Another object is to coat the blank with a decorative,detergent-resistant coating to enhance the appearance of the piece offurniture formed from the blank and also to provide a protective Coatingtherefor which can be cleaned with any of the common detergents or othertypes of cleaners.

A further object is to provide a decorative and detergent-resistantcoating for a blank to be folded into an article of fumiture, whichcoating is of sufficient resiliency and flexibility so that it adheresto the blank stock without breaking or cracking as the blank is foldedand otherwise manipulated to form the piece of furniture.

Another object is to provide a coating for paper furniture which ismar-resistant, elastic, has outstanding qualities of color retention andweather resistance and which can be rubbed or polished to a glossyfinish to match a lacquer finish.

A further object is to provide weather-resistant outdoor painted paperfurniture in a variety of colors which withstand outdoor exposure tosunlight without fading or yellowing.

Another object is to provide a method for preparing mar-resistant coatedfurniture from a single paper blank and special elastic coatingmaterials which are adapted for outdoor and indoor use.

Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription and accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the blank which is precut and scored to befolded into a chair;

FIG. 2 is a plan of the rail which supports the front end of the seat;

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating the infolding and interlock of theside panels;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view ofthe partly folded blank and illustratesthe folding of the back and seat portions relative to the side portion;

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of the assembled chair; and,

FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of the assembled chair.

FIG. 1 discloses the blank in flat condition. By folding the blank asdescribed herebelow, a chair is formed without the use of any fasteningmeans such as staples and adhesive, the chair being of sufficientrigidity to support an adult. The blank may be made of any foldablematerials which has the required rigidity. Preferably, the material iscorrugated fiberboard which is light in weight, has the desiredrigidity, and which can be easily coated with a decorative coating whichis detergentresistant so that the chair may be cleaned when necessary.

In view of the necessity of folding the blank to provide the sides, backand seat, the coating must be of sufficient elasticity and resiliency sothat it slightly yields without breaking or cracking.

The yielding coating cannot peel away from the paperboard, fiberboard orcorrugated board material, yet it must be heavy enough to completelychange the characteristics of appearance and feel of the paper furnitureto which it is applied. The coating must withstand a full 180 bend andcannot sustain any macroscopic cracking marks or fissures as a result ofsuch bending. The coating must resist alcohol spotting, water spotting,fading by strong sunlight and burning by cigarettes. It must be easy toclean and resistant to chalking if strong cleaning materials areemployed.

It is preferred that the blank be out before it is coated and it ispreferred that the coating be effected by dipping rather than byspraying since the former operation requires less personnel and thethickness of the coating may be more accurately adjusted to provide amore uniform product. It is preferred to utilize the novel coatingmethod applied to paperboard materials at low temperatures, e.g. notmore than C. or 300 F and it is also desirable to apply stronglyadherent sealing coatings, such as polyurethanes based upon the reactionproducts of polyisocyanates with flexible polyesters, polyethers,polyester amides or with acrylic resins containing free carboxylic acidgroups or with vinyl resins containing free carboxylic acid groups.These primers completely alter the characteristics of the paperboardmaterial to permit heat curing of the intermediate or top coatingswithout tenderizing or damaging-the paperboard base material.

In serial order starting from the left in FIG. 1, blank 1 comprises thefollowing panels: end panel 2, inner side panel 3, outer side panel 4,back panel 5, outer side panel 6, inner side panel 7 and end panel 8.Each of the above panels is hinged to its adjacent panels by score lines10, ll, l2, l3, l4 and 15, respectively. Each score line is formed by ascoring tool and is of sufficient width to permit the blank stock toform a generally rounded fold, rather than a sharp fold. The roundedfold permits the coating to adhere to the stock material whereas a sharpfold would tend to break or crack the coating. As will be pointed outhereafter, the rounded folds are illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6.

End panels 2 and 8 have oppositely extending slots 17 and 18 cuttherein. Inner side panels 3 and 7 have T-shaped slots 19 and 20 andrectangular slots 21 and 22 cut therein. A T- shaped tab 24 extends fromthe top of panel 3 and a similar tab 25 extends from the top of panel 7.Outer side panels 4 and 6 have T-shaped slots 26 and 27 cut therein,which in chair-assembled position interlock with tabs 24 and 25respectively.

A panel 29 extends from the top of back panel 5, and a seat panel 30extends from panel 29. Score line 31 hinges panel 29 to panel 5 andscore line 32 hinges seat panel 3010 panel 29. Tabs 33 and 34 extendfrom the sides of seat 30 to interlock with slots 19 and 20,respectively.

The only additional part used to form the chair is the seat rail 35illustrated in FIG. 2. It comprises a rail portion 37 and legs 38 and 39which interlock with slots 21 and 22, respectively.

Tabs 24 and 25 have score lines 40 and 41, respectively, at theirjunction with their respective panels, whereby the tabs may be foldednormal to the faces of the panels.

After the blank is cut, slotted, and score lined to provide the abovepanels, slots and tabs, it is coated with the desired coating to providethe required properties outlined above. Application of the coating tothe blank may be carried out by the available apparatus and processes,such as by rolling on the coating, or by dipping the blank. Dipping ispreferred because such method assures the application of the coating toall surfaces of the blank, including the surfaces of the edges of theblank and the surfaces within the several slots.

To form the chair from the blank, the ends of the blank containingpanels 2, 3, 7 and 8 are folded along score lines 11 and 14, and the endpanels are interlocked by interengageed slits l7 and 18, as illustratedin FIG. 3. Tabs 24 and 25 are bent to interlock with slots 26 and 27,respectively, either before slits l7 and 18 are interengaged orthereafter.

As will be noted from FIGS. 3 and 4, score lines 10 and I2 are generallyaligned. The same is true of score lines 13 and 15. Inner side panels 3and 7 overlay outer side panels 4 and 6, respectively.

The next step in forming the chair involves folding interlocked sidepanels 3-4 and 67 toward each other along aligned score lines 10-12 and13-15, respectively, as illustrated in FIG. 4. Panel 29 is folded downalong score line 31 so that it forms the inner back panel, and panel 30is folded up along score line 32 generally normal to folded panel 29 toform the seat. Tabs 33 and 34 are interlocked within slots 19 and 20,respectively, and rail 36 is secured to inner side panels 3 and 7 bysliding legs 38 and 39 into slots 21 and 22, respectively. The front ofseat 30 is supported on rail member 37 of rail means 36, as illustratedin FIG. 5

Tabs 24 and 25 are of sufficient size to serve as arm rests, asillustrated in FIG. 5. FIGS. 4 and 5 further illustrate the manner inwhich the side score lines 11, 14, etc. permit rounded folds wherebyinner side panels 3 and 7 are spaced from the outer side panels 4 and 6,respectively, whereby a rigid support for the chair is obtained. Thespacing between the inner and outer side panels is maintained by theportions of tabs 33 and 34 and of legs 38 and 39 extending between theinner and outer side panels.

The finally assembled chair is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The weight of theuser is supported by the double paneled structure of side panels 3-4 and6-7. All of the corners at which the panels join each other aregenerally rounded to reduce bending stresses on the coating.

While various types of coatings and methods of their application areavailable, the coatings and methods described below are illustrative andare preferred for the reasons which are pointed out in the severaldescription of preferred materials and combination in criticalthicknesses.

Although the present preferred example of decorated paper furniture isin the form of a chair structure from a single coating blank of paperstock material, it is obvious that the present novel coating andmanufacturing concepts are applicable to the manufacture of desks,tables, sofas, chests, etc., which are made from more than a singleblank.

Paper furniture has been made before but has not been accepted for usein areas open to view because it has been impossible to disassociate theappearance and serviceability from that of a paper carton or temporarystorage chest. The paper furniture made heretofore has not beensatisfactory in appearance or serviceability. Under no circumstances hasthis furniture been usable outdoors.

The present novel decorating system for paper furniture is based uponthe need to apply an overall thickness of at least 5 mils of coating ina plurality of layers including a primer coating, a flexible toughmar-resistant intermediate coating and a hard outer surface layer. Thecombination of primer and elastic top coating prevents cracking at thebent portions.

The coating is formed of elastic, mar-resistanct paint layers which arebased upon elastic polyester, elastic polyester polyurethane, elasticepoxy ester and elastic silicone resins for the intermediate and toplayers. These resin materials have outstanding color retention andweather resistance and can be rubbed or polished to a glossy finish tomatch the best grades of lacquers which are commercially available.

The chemical formulation of the plastic vehicle prevents chalking andwearing by abrasives and detergents. This same chemical vehicleselection provides outstanding heat resistance and outstandingresistance to staining from alcohol, coffee, etc.

Synthetic alkyd coatings, acrylic or vinyl latex coatings and celluloselacquers which have been used for indoor architectural finishes are notsatisfactory when applied to paper furniture and cannot achieve theresults which are obtained in the present invention. These commerciallyavailable household paints, whether water based or oil based, provide acoating of 1-2 mils in thickness after a single roller application ordouble spraying applications. If the thickness is raised to 5 mils, thepaint flakes and cracks away from the base. This tendency to flake andcrack is accelerated with time, aging, exposure to sunlight and exposureto moisture. In a relatively short period of time, washing and rubbingof the decorated furniture removes the coating in patches. Stripping andrefinishing would not be practical.

Rubber latex paints applied to paperboard are also unsatisfactory sincethey can be applied only in thin layers which flake away from the base.If plural coatings are applied over a primer, they tend to peel, andpeeling often may be of one coat of rubber material away from anothercoat of the same rubber latex, the latex adhering more tightly to theprimer than to itself. Furthermore, the latex coatings cannot bepolished to a high gloss when desired and cannot provide high surfacehardness, both of which are required attributes of the presentinvention.

The elastic mar-resistant resinous paint is preferably applied inseveral thin layers to the paper blank which has been primed with asealer. One type of elastic coating material which can be used in anelastic polyester resulting from esteriflcation of saturated orunsaturated dicarboxylic acid with polyhydric alcohols which have beenreduced with a polymerizable vinyl monomer solvent. This vinyl-polyestercoating contains only traces of volatile ingredients and is well knownin the art; but it has never before been applied to fiberboard,pressboard or like paperboard materials for paper furniture.

The dicarboxylic acid is preferably derived from phthalic anhydride orisophthalic acid or terephthalic acid, and the halogenated andhydrogenated derivatives of these acids may be used where fire proofingor better solvency are needed. The unsaturated dicarboxylic acidsinclude maleic anhydride, maleic acid, itaconic acid, citraconic acid,mesaconic acid, aconitic acid, etc. Longer chain saturated aliphaticdicarboxylic acids including adipic, pimelic, azelaic, etc. are usefulto impart flexibility, while the phthalic acid-type compound impartstoughness. Long chain saturated acids add flexibility (coconut oil fattyacids) and may be used in mixtures.

The polyh ydric alcohol may have aromatic nuclei or may be I an alkylenealcohol such as diethylene glycol, ethylene glycol, l-3 3 butyleneglycol, dipropylene glycol, etc. Abietyl alcohol is useful.

The vinyl monomers generally used are styrene and vinyl toluene, dibutylfumarate, diethyl maleate, 2-ethyl hexyl acrylate, diallyl phthalate,diallyl maleate, methyl methacrylate, acrylonitrile, vinyl acetate,triallyl citrate, etc.

There is sufficient unsaturation in the unsaturated polyester to combinewith the polymerizable vinyl monomer to convert the liquid polyestersystem to the cured state after filming and without the need forvolatile solvent or volatile hydrocarbon hinner.

A base coating of reactive polyisocyanate polymer in a thickness ofabout 0.05 to 1.0 mils is applied to the paper to form the primer andthereafter the flexible polyester is applied to produce a flexibleintermediate layer about 5-15 mils in thickness. Metal driers, as usedin siccative coatings, e.g. cobalt naphthenate, nickel oleate, leadnaphthenate, etc. and mixtures, are generally used with organic peroxideto accelerate conversion of the vinyl thinned unsaturated polyesterpolymers from the liquid to a gel state and then to a solid state. Theconversion from a gel to a fully hardened state takes place throughinterpolymerization of the vinyl monomer solvent and the unsaturatedpolyester polymer. It may be desirable to dilute the polyester withvolatile solvent if the intermediate coating is to be applied byspraying. Such solvents illustratively may be ethyl acetate, butylacetate, toluene, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, hi-flash naphtha,turpentine and s h t mns- The preferred primer which promotes adhesionto the polyester top coating is the reactive polyisocyanate made fromcastor oil and methylene bis-4-phenyl isocyanate. Instead of the castoroil material, ether resin fatty acid esters (epoxy esters) or dimerizedfatty acids may be used. To promote air drying, there may be added tothe reactive primer 0.5 percent lead and 0.05 percent cobalt as metalsbased on the weight of the vehicle solids. The castor oil polyisocyanateis preferably sprayed at approximately 35 percent solids in hydrocarbon(xylene) or other suitable solvent while the epoxy esters are generallyapplied at approximately 35 to 40 percent solids in volatile organicsolvent (toluene).

A free radical peroxide catalyst is also present in the intermediatepolyester layer. The catalyst is of the oxidation-reduction type. Theperoxide is added just before the material is sprayed on. The peroxideused include 60 percent methyl ethyl ketone peroxide in dibutylphthalate, 50 percent cyclohexanone peroxide in dibutyl phthalate andcumene hydroperoxide. A small percentage, usually about 0.02 percent ofcobalt metal in the form of a metal-organic oil soluble salt, is mixedin the catalyst and resin at the time solvents are added. The amountofperoxide used may vary from 1 to 4 percent and the preferred amount is0.6 to 1.5 percent for methyl ethyl ketone peroxide which has a shortpot life of about onehalf hour. For more extended pot life, cumenehydroperoxide may be used in an amount of 1-2 percent.

A clear top layer of reactive polyisocyanate resin is preferably appliedover the intermediate polyester layer. This top layer has high gloss,high surface hardness, excellent flow during application and good marresistance.

. The intermediate polyester coating may include a thixotropic filler.One example of such filler is short fiber asbestos of fine standardplastic filler grade. Others include pulverized dehydrated silica gel inan uncompressed state, e.g. Cab-osil," Godfrey L. Cabot Co., P-D-244Silica, Davison Chemical Co., or Santocel," Monsanto Chemical Co.,certain natural and/or treated clays which include combined water intheir structure (so-called hydrous clays), e.g. bentonite, etc.

The asbestos shorts, silica gel and hydrous clays are employed in smallamounts, usually between about 0.5 percent and 5 percent by weight.

The silica gels represented by Cab-o-sil, Santocel" and P-D-A244 Silica"are dry, free-flowing, powdery products which contain small amounts ofcombined water in their gel structure and are submicroscopic particleshaving a silica content (dry basis) of 99.0 to 99.7 percent, a freemoisture content of 0.2 to 2.0 percent at 105 C. and a negligiblecontent of calcium oxide, magnesium oxide and ferric oxide. Opalinehydrous siliceous minerals, such as hyalite and diatomite, are naturalproducts comparable to the above manufactured products which, incomminuted form, can also be used.

Finely divided solid materials of a hard abrasive nature may be added toimpart reinforcement and particularly skid proofing. Thus, pulverizedsand, pumice, aluminum carbides, aluminum silicides, garnet, glass,porcelain, blast furnace slag, etc., represent comminuted abrasivematerials which can be used.

Another example of a flexible coating is the epoxy ester coating asshown in the air dry enamel vehicle in the Lee and Neville text, EpoxyResins, McGraw-Hill Book Co., lnc., 1957, at page 286; but, for thepurposes of the present invention, this coating must be applied overpaperboard material in a new way and in a thickness of 3-12 mils over anacrylic primer or a vinyl carboxylic acid ester primer, such as VMCH.

This air dry enamel vehicle comprises 43 percent by weight of epoxyresin of molecular weight 1,000, 47 percent by weight of linseed fattyacids and 10 percent by weight of gum rosin. The epoxy resin has aviscosity of Y-Z on the Gardner- Holdt scale at 60 percent solids inmineral spirits. The film may be baked for minutes at 150 C. if there isadded l5 percent of melamine formaldehyde resin to 85 percent of epoxyester. Tall oil acids may be used. The thixotropic fillers, pigments anddryers may be added to the epoxy ester enamel in much the same fashionas to the polyester enamel.

A useful flexible silicone resin is that which is based upon a mixtureof polysiloxane and flexible alkyl or flexible polyester resin. Theflexible alkyl component is prepared from the reaction of polyhydricalcohol, such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol or glycerine, withdicarboxylic acids, such as succinic acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid,isophthalic acid or phthalic acid, the reaction being carried out withan excess of the acid component so that the polyester contains at leasttwo free carboxyl groups for acid functionality in reaction with epoxyester and silicone resin. Only about l030 percent of low molecularweight epoxy resin (preferably of molecular weight 1,000) is requiredand about 10-30 percent of polysiloxane resin is employed to provide aheat-resistant, solvent-resistant, hard-surfaced thermoset finish.

From 10-25 percent urea or melamine formaldehyde may be added togetherwith an aliphatic amine catalyst (triethylene tetramine) to facilitateheat curing at temperatures of 250 F.

Conventional pigments may be employed. In making the coating mixture,the silicone resin is added at the last step because it serves toimprove the flow of the resin when applied by dipping or roller coating.lf up to 25 percent of the dibasic acid is substituted with unsaturatedacids, such as oleic acid, tall oil acids, linseed oil acids, and ametal drier is added of the type mentioned above for the polyestercoating, the coating may be dried in two stages, a first stage of airdrying to evaporate volatile solvents usedas thinners and a second stageof baking at 250 F. for 30 minutes.

The silicone resin for coating may be purchased from the supplier underSilicone Resin SR82"'(Dow Corning Chemical Co.). The alkyd resin mayalso be purchased from commercial sources. The epoxy resin may bepurchased from the Shell Chemical Co. under the name of Epon Resin." Thepolyester resin may be purchased from Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. Thepolyurethane resins based upon polyether prepolymer, polyesterprepolymer and polyesteramide prepolymer may be purchased from El.DuPont de Nemours Co. or from Mobay Chemical Co.

Although the resins are generally interchangeable, the elastic polyesterresins are applied in greater total thickness than the epoxy resins orthe epoxy silicone resins, e.g., from about 7-15 mils total thicknesscontrasted to 4-10 mils total thickness.

The above disclosed embodiment of the invention is for illustrativepurposes only, and it will be evident that various changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from the scope andspirit of the invention.

lclaim:

l. A single blank of foldable sheet material for forming a chaircomprising:

a series of panels which join each other in the following order: aninner side panel, an outer side panel, a back panel, a second outer sidepanel, a second inner side panel, and end panels;

said second panels being substantially of the same size and shape as thefirst claimed corresponding panels;

score lines at the junction of said adjacent inner and outer side panelsto permit the folding of each inner side panel to overlay its adjacentouter side panel;

interlocking means on said adjacent inner and outer side panels tosecure said panels in spaced relation;

score lines between the back panel and each of the outer side panels topermit each of the secured spaced side panels to be positioned to formthe sides of the chair;

an inner back panel having an edge hinged by a score line to the top ofthe back panel;

a seat panel hinged by a score line to the opposite edge of said innerback panel;

said score lines at the edges permitting folding of the inner back paneland attached seat panel between the side panels to bring the seat panelinto a horizontal position;

said end panels being hinged by a score line to the outer edge of eachinner side panel, said end panels being car ried by their respectiveadjacent inner side panels, when the latter are folded to overlay theirrespective outer side panels, to a position wherein each end paneloverlays a portion of said back panel and the end panel score linesalign with the score lines between the back panel and the adjacent outerside panels, to thereby permit the folding of the spaced side panels totheir final assembled position; and,

means for securing said seat panel to said inner side panels to therebyform a complete chair from the blank.

2. The blank for forming a chair as defined in claim 1 wherein each endpanel has an oppositely extending slit which interengages to lock saidend panels in the position wherein they overlay the back panel.

3. The blank for forming a chair as defined in claim 2 wherein theinterlocking means securing the inner and outer side panels comprisemutually interlocking tab and slot means, and wherein the means forsecuring the seat panel to the inner side panels comprise mutuallyinterlocking tab and slot means.

4. The blank for forming a chair as defined in claim 3 wherein a railmeans is provided to support the front of the seat panel, said railmeans extending into slots formed in the inner side panels.

5. The blank for forming a chair as claimed in claim 4 wherein thespacing between each inner and outer side panel is maintained by the taband slot means securing the seat panel to the inner side panels and bythe ends of the rail means extending through their cooperating slotmeans.

6. The blank for forming a chair as defined in claim 3 wherein the firstclaimed tab and slot means bridge the spacing between the inner andouter side panels to form arm rests.

7. The blank for forming a chair as defined in claim 1 wherein the blankis coated with a decorative elastic and detergent-resistant coatingwhich comprises a plurality of layers consisting of a primer coating andan elastic layer over the primer coating, the primer coating being in athickness of up to about 1 mi] and the elastic layer being at least 4mils thick, and wherein said elastic layer if formed of a resin whichprovides a hard, mar-resistant, burn-resistant and stain-resistantsurface and is selected from the group consisting of elastic polyester,elastic polyester polyurethane, elastic polyether polyurethane, elasticpolyester amide polyurethane, elastic epoxy ester modified withaminoplast resin and alkyd resin, and elastic epoxy ester modified withacrylic resin.

8. A blank as defined in claim 7 wherein the elastic layer above theprimer coating is composed of an intermediate layer and a top layer, theintermediate layer being more flexible than the top layer and containinga thickening agent, and wherein the top layer provides a hard,unpigmented surface which can be rubbed to a high gloss.

2. The blank for forming a chair as defined in claim 1 wherein each endpanel has an oppositely extending slit which interengages to lock saidend panels in the position wherein they overlay the back panel.
 3. Theblank for forming a chair as defined in claim 2 wherein the interlockingmeans securing the inner and outer side panels comprise mutuallyinterlocking tab and slot means, and wherein the means for securing theseat panel to the inner side panels comprise mutually interlocking taband slot means.
 4. The blank for forming a chair as defined in claim 3wherein a rail means is provided to support the front of the seat panel,said rail means extending into slots formed in the inner side panels. 5.The blank for forming a chair as claimed in claim 4 wherein the spacingbetween each inner and outer side panel is maintained by the tab andslot means securing the seat panel to the inner side panels and by theends of the rail means extending through their cooperating slot means.6. The blank for forming a chair as defined in claim 3 wherein the firstclaimed tab and slot means bridge the spacing between the inner andouter side panels to form arm rests.
 7. The blank for forming a chair asdefined in claim 1 wherein the blank is coated with a decorative elasticand detergent-resistant coating which comprises a plurality of layersconsisting of a primer coating and an elastic layer over the primercoating, the primer coating being in a thickness of up to about 1 miland the elastic layer being at least 4 mils thick, and wherein saidelastic layer if formed of a resin which provides a hard, mar-resistant,burn-resistant and stain-resistant surface and is selected from thegroup consisting of elastic polyester, elastic polyester polyurethane,elastic polyether polyurethane, elastic polyester amide polyurethane,elastic epoxy ester modified with aminoplast resin and alkyd resin, andelastic epoxy ester modified with acrylic resin.
 8. A blank as definedin claim 7 wherein the elastic layer above the primer coating iscomposed of an intermediate layer and a top layer, the intermediatelayer being more flexible than the top layer and containing a thickeningagent, and wherein the top layer provides a hard, unpigmented surfacewhich can be rubbed to a high gloss.